An "I Haven't Seen It" Review of Disney's Frozen

By Meg Hodson

Yep, it's true.  I am one of the 7 people who hasn't seen Frozen yet.  I mean honestly, if you are parents and families out there, I would imagine you only go to the movies a few times a year?  Well, we are selective about what we choose to see in the theaters and what we wait to watch on DVD.  Part of it is cost, part of it is waiting for something worthwhile to see on the big screen.  

This time around, my husband took my kids to see Frozen when it was in the theater.  I stayed home.  I had a little "me" time.  No big deal, right?  Well, they got home and pretty much were GUSHING about this movie.  I was like great, so it was good much like Tangled was?  Even my husband chimed in....."Disney hit it with this one, it is really good."

Photo Credit

I love my share of Disney movies.  I always loved Beauty and the Beast.  I could watch Cars over and over and still hear a joke or one liner that I somehow missed before.  But at the same time, I've had a problem, too.  I've had an issue with Disney princesses.

I am willing to accept that some girls want to follow in the steps of Cinderella and Ariel; they want to be swept off their feet right away and ride off into the sunset with their prince.  But I also want Disney to appreciate that this is not right for all girls; they want to be independent, free spirited, and take a path of discovery that does not involve men......at least for a little while.  What Disney failed at for so many films is always choosing the former as their ideal princess.  Why I'm not sure.  But it always kept a silent grunt churning in the back of my mind.  

Many might say this isn't a big issue; it's make believe, it's a movie, just let the kids have fun.  I didn't have proof or support for my argument either way until I heard a friend relay her story of when she became a stepmother.  She married her husband, who had three young children from a previous marriage.  She became the primary caregiver for them (as well as later having a biological child).  She was bathing them one night when they questioned "You're not like other stepmothers, like in Cinderella?"  It was a touching moment.  It also showed the impression that such themes can have on kids, in this case young girls.  

So, as I sat in the car on our recent road trip, the kids began to watch Frozen.  We had picked up the newly released DVD just a day before we left.  I was prepared to either require headphones for the viewing or get heavily immersed in a book to "tune out" most of the film.  I did want to see Frozen, but I wanted to be genuinely surprised and watch it in the comforts of our living room.  I was able to tune out for the most part, but couldn't help but clearly hear the scene below from the movie:

My ears smiled.  Thank you!  I don't know how many times I've told my daughter that she is not going to marry some guy she just met on a ship when she is 17 (she needs to finish high school, right?)  This is all I had to hear to immediately have a positive impression of the movie.  Throw in some fun humor (aka his best friend's name is John) and in just 2 minutes, I am giving the movie 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.  

Will the rest of the movie live up to my excitement over this scene?  From my kids' insistence that we watch this movie as soon as possible, I venture to say "yes". I can't wait to watch it in it's entirety.  

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Batman Is My Boyfriend (A Review of The Lego Movie)

By Meg Hodson

It's refreshing when a movie both celebrates itself and pokes fun at itself a little, too. This is exactly what the new film, The Lego Movie, does.  My husband and I attended with our three young children on the night of it's premiere.  We even braved a snowstorm to attend opening night!

As the movie begins, we learn about the somewhat simple life of Emmet, a construction worker.  As we witness his daily routine of getting up and going to work, we are treated to many familiar Lego traits:  an elaborate "city" in which he lives, Legos being broken down and put back together again, a construction site dumping piles of random Legos here and there (sounds like my boys' room!).  He is unknowingly pushed into the role of "the special", entrusted to carry out a prophecy that was stolen by the evil president.  

Such a story line might be somewhat difficult for the younger set to follow.  While my 5 year old probably did not keep track of every detail of the story line, he enjoyed the movie on many other levels, too. My 8 and 10 year old were giggling throughout the movie.  Why?  Again, there was a nice mix between the story line and the "culture" of Legos.  One minifig had his face erased and later in the movie, drew it back on. There was an emphasis on being a "builder" and that masterpieces can be made from random pieces (again, I have tubs and tubs in my house of random Legos!) There was also a cute, humorous, and touching sequence in the end, paralleling Emmet stuck in real life (with a visit to Will Ferrell).

For me, the highlight came from Batman, voiced by Will Arnett.  Capturing the dark, slightly raspy voice of Batman, he jumps around the movie with his Batman toys and a few vehicles.  He's the boyfriend of Lucy, the main female minifig in the movie, hence the title of this post.  Kids will love the Batman toys and tricks; parents will love the subtle adult humor.

Throw in some good one liners and guest appearances from Chewbacca and Han Solo, a pirate, Superman, Wonder Woman, and various other character minifigs, and you've got one entertaining movie.  The PG rating comes from some very mild violence and a few references to death.  For me, it is about as family friendly as it gets.  

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A Mom's Review of Thor: The Dark World

Let me preface this review with statement that our household is a huge fan of the Avenger's and all things superhero!  So, I suppose going into the movie, we were slightly biased in being predisposed to liking the movie, but I will try to bring some objective reviewing to this article.  

Thor: The Dark World is the follow up to the original Thor movies from 2 years ago, as well as building off the popular Avengers movie from 2012.  As you might expect, the movie is filled with an enticing storyline, plenty of heroic action, and, of course, good looking people!  What resonated with me and this versus the first Thor, is that Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) are so believable in their character form.  They play their parts well.  I was surprised at how drawn I was to Loki and wanting him to be good and work with his brother, although he was still full of rage.

Photo courtesy of Telegraph UK

The main reason I choose to write movie reviews is to give my take on whether it's acceptable for you to take your children to.  All parents have a wide scale of what they deem an acceptable movie for young children.  So, I don't bring this review to you as an endorsement per se.  I am merely sharing with you what we are watching, as well as touching on parts of the movie that might be sensitive for some viewers.

The language in the movie is little elevated versus the first movie.  Unofficially, I counted 2 "hells" and 1 "s$*t".  As a parent, I immediately was a little shocked at the "s" word and our children already know that's a word that is sometimes heard, but that we, as a family, choose not to use in everyday conversation.  But generally, I am a liberal but involved when it comes to these types of movies that I let my children watch.

In regards to the action scenes, there are some intense moments of beings becoming "fire ridden".  There are a few up close and personal shots of swords and daggers being driven into other people.  I would compare the intensity of this movie to that of The Avenger's.  I didn't find it as intense as Ironman 3.  

Overall, this movie delivers with great action scenes, some fun, humorous one-liners here and there, and the quintessential Stan Lee cameo tucked in there.  I was comfortable taking my children (9, 7, 5) and we had a great time.

Photo Courtesy of Happy Kids, Inc

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Ready For Takeoff!....A Review of Disney's "Planes"

Was it a little like Cars?  Yeah.  Would kids even care?  Probably not.  Did it eventually find it's way?  Yes!  Disney's Planes opened in theaters today.  My children had been looking forward to it most of the summer.  It's fun to go on opening night, so we planned to make it a family date night.  

The movie starts out exciting, with a Top Gun-like dream sequence. We're then introduced to Dusty, the crop duster who has dreams of entering a big around the world aerial race.  As the story progressed, it was shadowing a little too closely it's predecesor, Cars.  Skipper, the plane that helps Dusty train, echoes the personality of Doc.  They live out in the middle of nowhere (hmmmm, Radiator Springs anyone?).

Thankfully, this walk down memory lane is relatively short-lived and the movie starts to stand on it's own a bit as Dusty qualifies to enter the race.  Set to the tune of a pretty rockin' soundtrack, the race sets off around the world, with a few bumps in the road to try to knock Dusty off his pace (predictable, I know). But the climactic scene where he battles the ocean as he tries to make it to Mexico is realistic and even heart wrenching.  The Top Gun touches with the Navy planes is entertaining, too.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Photo Courtesy of uk.movies.yahoo.com

In Disney's Planes, we are treated to the quintessential one liners, humor, and thematic play on words (i.e., "hold onto your lug nuts) that made Cars so lovable.  Overall, it was well-done, almost cinematic in it's animation, and the voice characters were top notch.  Yes, although predictable at times, it won't come across that way to your children.  They will enjoy it.  I think as adults critiquing movies aimed at children, we need to see things from their perspective a bit more.  My husband and I agree it made for a great family evening.

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